Mini Reviews - My Secret Ella Remix

My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend
Author: Eleanor Wood
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: June 4th 2015
Source: Review Copy - Macmillan Children's Books
Rating:

Geeky girl meets famous boy.. what could go wrong?

Tuesday Cooper is happy being normal -doing her a-levels and indulging in her twin obsessions: buying weird vintage clothes in charity shops and writing her beloved music blog (which nobody ever reads). Her love for music started when she was thirteen and had a massive crush on Jackson Griffith, teen rock god and SUPER HOT LOVE OF HER LIFE. Now Tuesday's eighteen and has moved on to fancying boys in real life and Jackson went off the celebrity radar years ago.

So it can't be him that's messaging her on her blog, can it?

I think the thing that made me want to read this book is the fact that I just kept thinking about what I would do in the situation. When I was around 13 I was completely obsessed and in love with Marilyn Manson (he's gone downhill over the last few years but going back 12 years he was still good) and I had a blog where I would talk about my life and my 'struggles' as a teenager, I was pretty much the original emo, and I would mention him on there a lot because I listened to him all the time. Anyway I was trying to think what I would do and how I would react if I was Tuesdays (granted giving what Marilyn Manson was like I probably wouldn't sneak off to meet him because that would be silly, even at 18) so before I even read it I was already really intrigued with the storyline.

Book Review - Perfectly Ella

Perfectly Ella
Author: Candy Harper
Series: Strawberry Sisters #1
Genres: Contemporary | Childrens, Young Adult
Release Date: 23rd April 2015
Source: Review Copy - Simon and Schuster
Rating:

Meet the Strawberry Sisters!

Oldest sister Amelia wants to be left alone to have deep thoughts, so she's grown a fringe to hide under. Second up is Chloe who's sport-crazy and in training to be a wrestling star (this week anyway). Littlest sister Lucy is the cute one who's training an army of earwigs.

Then there's Ella. The middle one who's still trying to work out what makes her 'Perfectly Ella' and how to stand out in a house full of big personalities.

And now there's a new Strawberry Sister.
Baby Kirsti who lives with Dad and his Finnish girlfriend.

Along with her sisters and one very tired Mum who's struggling to keep it all together, Ella's small home is crammed with almost-finished homework, nearly-clean jumpers and a vampire bunny called Buttercup. With so much going on, life can sometimes feel totally crazy but the Strawberry sisters have a secret weapon against the craziness of the world they live in, each other.

Candy Harper is what I would call one of my 'staple authors'. She's an author whom, whenever I see or hear of new work to be released by her, I'm on edge, watching and waiting, researching and stalking, ready to snap up advance copies of her work and every time, I'm impressed. With every new release, harper creates youthful characters I fall in love with, relationships and family connections that just turn my cold heart in a warm slushy goo, and stories that tug on my heartstrings and remind me of my own childhood. Perfectly Ella is absolutely no different and was beautiful to read.

Book Review - Half Wild

Half Wild
Author: Sally Green
Series: Half Life #2
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 24th March 2015
Publishers: Penguin
No. Pages: 384
Source: Review Copy - Penguin
Rating:

After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend Gabriel and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Black witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift - a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him.

Meanwhile, Soul O'Brien has seized control of the Council of White Witches and is expanding his war against Black witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Black and White witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Black witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fighting alongside both old friends and old enemies. But can all the rebels be trusted, or is Nathan walking into a trap?

Book Review - Flirty Dancing

Flirty Dancing
Author: Jenny McLachlan
Series: Ladybirds #1
Genres: Contemporary | Childrens, Young Adult
Release Date: 3rd July 2014
Publishers: Bloomsbury
No. Pages: 300
Source: Purchased
Rating: 

Bea Hogg is shy but fiery inside. When national dance competition Starwars comes to her school looking for talent, she wants to sign up. It's just a shame her best friend agreed to enter with school super-cow Pearl Harris. Bea will fight back!

But when school hottie, Ollie Matthews, who also happens to be Pearl’s boyfriend, decides to enter the competition with Bea, she will have more than a fight on her hands..

Book Review - The Winner's Crime

The Winner's Crime
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Series: The Winner's Trilogy #2
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 4th March 2014
Publishers: Bloomsbury
No. Pages: 368
Source: Review Copy - Bloomsbury
Rating:
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The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement.. if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For- unknown to Arin - Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

Book Review - Love Bomb

Love Bomb
Author: Jenny McLachlan
Series: Ladybirds #2
Genres: Contemporary | Childrens, Young Adult
Release Date: 12th March 2015
Publishers: Bloomsbury Childrens
No. Pages: 304
Source: Review Copy - Bloomsbury Childrens
Rating: 

Betty Plum has never been in love. She's never even kissed a boy. But when H.O.T Toby starts school it's like Betty has been hit with a thousand of Cupid's arrows. It's like a bomb has exploded – a love bomb!

More than ever Betty wishes her mum hadn't died when Betty was a baby. She really needs her mum here to ask her advice. And that's when she finds hidden letters for just these moments. Letters about what your first kiss should feel like and what real love is all about..

Is Betty ready to fall in love? Will she finally have her first kiss?

Book Review - Apple and Rain

Apple and Rain
Author: Sarah Crossan
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 12th February 2015
Publishers: Bloomsbury Childrens
No. Pages: 330
Source: Review Copy - Bloomsbury Childrens
Rating:

When Apple's mother returns after eleven years away, Apple feels whole again. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother's homecoming is bittersweet. It's only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are.

A story about sad endings.
A story about happy beginnings.
A story to make you realise who is special.

Book Review - The Sin Eater’s Daughter

The Sin Eater’s Daughter
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Series: The Sin Eater’s Daughter #1
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: February 24th 2015
Publishers: Scholastic Press
No. Pages: 336
Source: Review Copy - Scholastic Press
Rating:
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Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she’s engaged to the prince, Twylla isn’t exactly a member of the court.

She’s the executioner.

As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month she’s taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla’s fatal touch, avoids her company.

But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he’s able to look past Twylla’s executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla’s been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen.

However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla’s problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

Book Review - All Fall Down

All Fall Down
Author: Ally Carter
Series: Embassy Row #1
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery | Young Adult
Release Date: 5th Febuary 2015
Publishers: Orchard Books
No. Pages: 320
Source: Review Copy - Orchard Books
Rating:

Grace can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row.

Now, at age sixteen, she's come back to stay - in order to solve the mystery of her mother's death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved.

Book Review - Mark of Athena

The Mark of Athena
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #3
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 2nd October 2012
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 574
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy - after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera - it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can't blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: 'Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me.' Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find - and close - the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side..

Book Review - Famous in Love

Famous in Love
Author: Rebecca Serle
Series: Famous in Love #1
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 21st October 2014
Publishers: Poppy
No. Pages: 336
Source: Won
Rating:
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The romantic story of a girl who gets plucked from obscurity to star in the next major feature film franchise based on a book and the ensuing love triangles she gets entangled in on - and off screen.

Meet Paige Townsen, Rainer Devon, and Jordan Wilder..

When Paige Townsen, a young unknown, gets cast in the movie adaptation of a blockbuster book series, her life changes practically overnight. Within a month, Paige has traded the quiet streets of her hometown for a crowded movie set on the shores of Maui, and is spending quality time with her co-star Rainer Devon, one of People’s Sexiest Men Alive. But when troubled star Jordan Wilder lands the role of the other point in the movie’s famous love triangle, Paige’s crazy new life gets even crazier.

In this coming-of-age romance inspired by the kind of celeb hookups that get clever nicknames and a million page views, Paige must figure out who she is – and who she wants – while the whole world watches.

Book Review - The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #2
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 4th October 2011
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 513
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
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Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, has woken from a very deep sleep and come face to face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die. But they're the least of his problems. Because Percy finds himself at a camp for half-bloods, which doesn't ring any bells for him. There's just one name he remembers from his past. Annabeth.

Only one thing is certain - Percy's questing days aren't over. He and fellow demigods Frank and Hazel must face the most important quest of all: The Prophecy of Seven.

If they fail, it's not just their camp at risk.
Percy's old life, the gods and the entire world might be destroyed..

Book Review - I Was Here

I Was Here
Author: Gayle Forman
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 29th January 2015
Publishers: Simon & Schuster
No. Pages: 270
Source: Review Copy - Simon & Schuster
Rating:
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When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything - so how was there no warning?

But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington.

About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open - until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

Book Review - Zom-B Baby

Zom-B Baby
Author: Darren Shan
Series: Zom-B #5
Genres: Paranormal, Horror, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 26th September 2013
Publishers: Simon and Schuster
No. Pages: 215
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
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B has spent the last few months bunking with the Angels, a group of teens dedicated to eradicating the evil dead from the face of the earth, beginning with the undead roaming the abandoned wreckage that was once London. But the Angels' mission is a bit more complicated than that, and B takes to the streets of a very changed London to decide: is it a mission really to be believed? But instead of answers, B finds a horror beyond imagining

Book Review - Zom-B Angels

Zom-B Angels
Author: Darren Shan
Series: Zom-B #4
Genres: Paranormal, Horror, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 20th June 2013
Publishers: Simon and Schuster
No. Pages: 240
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
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After spending the last few months wandering around London - a city filled with the dead - B Smith has given up hope for any sign of normal human existence. But then B finds strange signs all over the city - a 'Z' plus red arrows. Following them, B finds The Angels - a group gathered in the hopes of combating the evil dead and the forces that introduced them. But all is not as it seems and it's up to B to find out: what battle are they truly waging?

Book Review - My True Love Gave To Me

My True Love Gave To Me
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 9th October 2014
Publishers: Macmillin
No. Pages: 355
Source: Gifted
Rating: 
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If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave To Me by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins.

Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or Kwanzaa, there’s something here for everyone.
So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy.
You have twelve reasons to stay indoors and fall in love.

Book Review - Twelve Days of Christmas

Twelve Days of Christmas
Author: Trisha Ashley
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Adult
Release Date: 28th October 2010
Publishers: HarperCollins
No. Pages: 416
Source: Gifted
Rating:
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Christmas has always been a sad time for young widow Holly Brown, so when she's asked to look after a remote house on the Lancashire moors, the opportunity to hide herself away is irresistible – the perfect excuse to forget about the festivities.

Sculptor, Jude Martland, is determined that this year there will be no Christmas after his brother runs off with his fiancée and he is keen to avoid the family home. However, he will have to return by the twelfth night of the festivities, when the hamlet of Little Mumming hold their historic festivities and all of his family are required to attend.

Meanwhile, Holly is finding that if she wants to avoid Christmas, she has come to the wrong place. When Jude unexpectedly returns on Christmas Eve he is far from delighted to discover that Holly seems to be holding the very family party he had hoped to avoid. Suddenly, the blizzards come out of nowhere and the whole village is snowed in. With no escape, Holly and Jude get much more than they bargained for – it looks like the twelve days of Christmas are going to be very interesting indeed..

Book Review - The Body Finder

The Body Finder
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder #1
Genres: Paranormal, Mystery | Young Adult
Release Date: 16th March 2010
Publishers: HarperCollins
No. Pages: 312
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
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Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her 'power' to sense dead bodies - or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer - and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer.. and becoming his prey herself.

Book Review - Anna Dressed in Blood

Anna Dressed in Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #1
Genres: Paranormal, Horror | Young Adult
Release Date: 5th July 2012
Publishers: Orchard Books
No. Pages: 373
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
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Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

Yet she spares Cas's life.

Book Review - Thirteen

Thirteen
Author: Tom Hoyle
Series: Thirteen #1
Genres: Mystery, Thriller | Childrens, Young Adult
Release Date: 13th February 2014
Publishers: MacMillan
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Born at midnight in London, on the stroke of the new millennium, Adam is the target of a cult that believes boys born on this date must die before the end of their thirteenth year.

Twelve boys have been killed so far. Coron, the crazy cult leader, will stop at nothing to bring in his new kingdom.

Now he is planning a bombing spectacular across London to celebrate the sacrifice of his final victim: Adam.